Romero Zombies

[The Grumpy Celt]

I don’t think the zombies, as presented, in the Monster Manual are very threatening. They certainly are not as threatening as the cannibalistic zombies of one of George Romero’s movies.

That said, I don’t think the zombie presented need a major overhaul, just some suitable tweaking.

First, they hunt, kill and eat members of living races but not animals and they can determine the difference between the living and the dead.

Second, while dead and “all messed up” they have nominal problem solving skills; such as climbing ladders, opening doors and smashing through what they knew in life to be a false wall.

Third, they do not decompose or at least decompose at a greatly reduced rate of speed.

Fourth, Damage to the brain will “kill” one.

Fifth, a bite attack will always be fatal in a few days unless treated magically.

I am attempting to work this out in game terms.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Ukyo the undead]

first: give them bonuses on survival, listen and spot checks. Im thinking about bumping up the dexterity, but I don´t know if it would fit your vision about the clumsiness(sp) of the zombies. So, maybe a kind of "rage", whenever a living target is near, giving a "morale" bônus on dexterity and strenght.

Second: Lower the zombie inteligence and cleverness. They are now basically mindless beasts, with only a residual shadow of humanity on them.

Third: I dont think you need a rule here, just description.

fourth:Instanly killing when hitting the brain? Why not allow a double 20 on critical make it?

fifth: the victim suffers 2d4 CON damage every day, until it dies and comeback as a zombie. Lower the damage if you think it´s too lethal. A restoration spell cure the victim status, but another spells are required to work on the CON loss. Use lesser restoration if you think it too powerful.

Hope it helped

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One difference between old style zombies of legend and newer, movie zombies is this:

Old zombies tend towards supernatural strength, but modern zombies, while no stronger than a weak living human adult (albeit unconcerned with damaging themselves), mob their victims.

You might simulate this by giving them a bloodfrenzy, so that once one zombie draws blood, all zombies within 10' get a DC10 Spot check roll to detect the wound and head towards it. This would lead to overbearing attacks.

 

[Tetsubo]

One idea I've seen mentioed before on this message board is to use ghould stats. You could replace the paralyze ability with a disease to reflect the infection risk. You might want to dumb them down a bit though.

 

[Krieg]

I don’t think the zombies, as presented, in the Monster Manual are very threatening. They certainly are not as threatening as the cannibalistic zombies of one of George Romero’s movies.

Do you have the Midnight book by FFG?

If so take a look at the templates for the Fell?

If not, think about creating a "Zombie" template that you can tack onto anyone rather than a straight Zombie write up. It will be much scarier for the party to face a zombie version of a former comrade...especially if the zombie retains some of the abilities it had in life.

 

[Hawken]

What are your thoughts?

Take a look at the Van Richten's Guide to Walking Dead. It is a supplement for the 3rd edition Ravenloft setting. It is full of rules and guidelines for improving any of the Walking Dead (Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls, etc.,); making them tougher, faster, etc., and the appropriate increases in CR for such additions.

The price tag is a little hefty for the content but you should be able to find it on Ebay or Amazon for a decent price.